This invention relates to novel bulky yarn, and especially bulky yarns formed of glass filaments.
Bulky yarns, composed of fibrous material, are yarns whose bulk density is substantially less than the actual density of the materials present in the yarn itself. Bulky yarns are characterized by their fluffy appearance and high degree of resilience. Because of the novel characteristics of bulky yarns, textile manufacturers and fabricators have utilized bulky yarns for a plurality of textile products requiring low bulk density, such as wearing apparel, certain types of draperies, carpeting and the like.
The producers of glass fibers are particularly interested in bulky yarns due to their bulk density characteristics. Normally, glass fibers are heavier than those produced from other synthetic and natural fibers due to their inherent high bulk density and thus the utility of glass textile fibers is limited to applications where high bulk density textiles are tolerable. Bulky fiber glass yarns which have a substantially lower bulk density render glass fiber yarns useful for products not previously feasible with non-bulky glass fiber yarn. In addition, multiple composition bulky glass yarns have been of interest to textile manufacturers due to the possibility of varying physical properties of fabrics made from such yarns. Multi-composition yarns are formed by wrapping a yarn of one composition about a yarn of a different composition while bulking according to these methods is known to skilled textile manufacturers. A multitude of techniques have been used to bulk yarns of fiber glass and organic fibers, all of which require time consuming processes. The predominate general method of producing bulky yarn consists of forming protuberances by means of combining two yarns; hence, by wrapping an effect yarn in helical fashion about a core yarn and thereafter wrapping another yarn about the core and effect yarns to prevent slippage of the protuberances on the core yarn. A bulky yarn having a pseudo-twist is formed by this process. Another process for producing bulky yarn involves impinging high velocity air on the fibers in a strand by means of a bulking jet. In this system, gas turbulence bulks the strand by separating the filaments in the yarn. After the separation of filaments, a binder is typically applied to the yarn to provide permanence to the filament separation. The aforementioned methods of forming bulky yarn are more fully disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,675,368 and 3,253,396. These are exemplary of the art, it being understood that many other processes and modifications of these processes are available to the art.
The practice of the instant invention provides a bulky yarn having a low bulk density. Further, the invention provides a continuous fiber yarn having the appearance of a spun staple fiber yarn.
In addition, the present invention provides a bulky yarn with or without a core strand within the bulked yarn.
The aforementioned advantages and characteristics of the invention will become more evident from the following description.